Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (3 May 1903-14 October 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby was the best-selling recording artist of the 20th century, the "most admired man alive" in 1948, and the first multimedia star. Crosby was a registered Republican Party member, campaigning for Wendell Willkie in 1940.

Biography
Harry Lillis Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington on 3 May 1903, and he grew up in Spokane. Crosby was second cousins with President Calvin Coolidge and his Vice-President Charles G. Dawes. He was nicknamed "Bing" after "The Bingville Bugle", a comedic magazine, for his laugh. Crosby attended Gonzaga University for three years, but he joined a band instead of graduating. From 1931 to 1954, he was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses. Crosby had a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced great future singers such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. During World War II, he kept morale high with his music, including his 1943 Christmas song "I'll Be Home for Christmas (If Only in My Dreams)". In 1963, he won the first Grammy Award, and he earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Crosby was a notable supporter of the Republican Party, actively campaigning for Wendell Willkie in 1940; he believed that no president should serve more than two terms, and he therefore opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt. After Willkie lost the election, Crosby decreed that he would stop making open political donations.